Looking for a trusted online conveyancer

Kommunist

Can someone please recommend an onlne conveyancing firm for a first time buyer?

I've heard good things about Abode from someone who used them in 2005 but it appears that their website is hijacked by somebody else since then?

Thank you

teachfast

No such thing, I'm afraid. 

AnnexeRegular

Why do you want an online conveyancer out of interest? You'll be better going with a trusted local firm. Online conveyancers are generally sharks with shocking customer service (Home Legal Direct are one of the worst out there)

teachfast

Trusted local firm won't be much better, but will probably charge you more.

Mutton_Geoff

As these are the legal representatives for the most expensive purchase you are ever likely to make in your life, why would you be looking for the cheapest option? I always use a really good solicitor, it costs a whole lot more but not much gets past them and I am always left feeling their fee was well worth the money during the buying/selling process.

musehead

Mutton_Geoff said:

As these are the legal representatives for the most expensive purchase you are ever likely to make in your life, why would you be looking for the cheapest option? I always use a really good solicitor, it costs a whole lot more but not much gets past them and I am always left feeling their fee was well worth the money during the buying/selling process.

He didn't say he was looking for the cheapest option, just a trusted/recommended online firm.

Online firms are not necessarily cheap, and many trusted local firms operate online as well.

davidmcn

musehead said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

As these are the legal representatives for the most expensive purchase you are ever likely to make in your life, why would you be looking for the cheapest option? I always use a really good solicitor, it costs a whole lot more but not much gets past them and I am always left feeling their fee was well worth the money during the buying/selling process.

Online firms are not necessarily cheap, and many trusted local firms operate online as well.

Just about everyone is operating online at the moment anyway, it's not as if you're going to be invited in for face-to-face meetings any time soon.

Kommunist

AnnexeRegular said:

Why do you want an online conveyancer out of interest? You'll be better going with a trusted local firm. Online conveyancers are generally sharks with shocking customer service (Home Legal Direct are one of the worst out there)

Well... the service my friend received from Abode (long time ago) was excellent and he recommended that firm to me. Another friend had an issue with local company (who also charged them almost three times more, compared to what the other guy paid). Either way, both of these firms are seemingly out of business so their advices didn't help me much.

He didn't say he was looking for the cheapest option, just a trusted/recommended online firm.

This. I am not going to select the company on price alone. The feedback is very important, hence I am asking for help

Besides, these days everything seem to be online anyway, so the actual location of company's office is very much irrelevant.

Fiesto88

Honestly, put aside an hour or two to ring round local firms. You want good service and this is the best way to get a feel - the one I went with, you could tell from a brief conversation that he lives and breathes property law, takes no nonsense and is focused. Have used him ever since and the bulk of the communication with him has been done by e-mail anyways. 

fishfingerbutties

My parents have been using a online only conveyancer, and was pre-covid, but just so happen to be local. It was handy for dropping off documents, but other than that it makes no difference whether they were 10 miles or 150 miles away. And they have been really good through a quite complex transaction.

Their buyer has had a local solicitor who has been shockingly bad - local doesn't always equate to good, online doesn't always equate to bad!

There's the traditional online conveyancing large volume mills, which is most people think of with poor service but these days online or local really makes much less difference than the old timers on here seem to think.

md258

We used http://www.premierpropertylawyers.com/ last year (based on a colleague recommendation) and were impressed by them. I may be able to find a referral code if you want to go with them- PM me if you'd like it.

Our main reason for going with an online firm was that we could go with a cheaper legal team as my wife is a solicitor who has previously done property work and so could check over everything. It also meant that local ex- (or future) colleagues of hers wouldn't be doing all of the financial checks and know all of our financial details.

As it turned out, Covid meant that the local solicitors had a mad scrabble around working out how to manage paper files and work from home, whereas our chosen one had the IT systems already set up.